Summer is usually the time I manage to do some reading, or at least reading that's not explicitly or directly linked to some form of worship prep.

This summer I have set myself the challenge of reading three books...

Growing Young by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffin aims to help churches to engage, empower and enable younger people... although from a US context, it comes recommended from UK 'next generation' specialists, so I am hoping it will be helpful... the couple of chapters I've read (but need to re-read) seem very promising.

Find Your Strongest Life  by Marcus Buckingham, is also from US context, and again comes highly recommended by those who have read it and whose opinions I value.  The subtitle, what the happiest and most successful women do differently, sounds like one of those utterly annoying motivational guides (and the cover design complete with man with cheesy smile doesn't help) but again, having skimmed my way through the first part (I need to read it properly) again it has promise, and the personality types quiz it uses proved surprisingly insightful.

Undivided by Vicky Beeching, subtitled coming out, becoming whole and living free from shame, is something of a 'must read' for anyone seeking to learn more about the Vicky's story and the wider topic of LGBTQI people and Christianity.  I need to read this to learn and understand, and quite possibly to repent.

A curious set of titles, but three books that promise much.  Having stated here that I'll read them, I make myself, in some small measure, accountable for so-doing.

As a 'way in' to our service, we had a little quiz, undertaken in groups where we sat, on the life of Joseph. It proved very interesting (and I think it went down OK).  No Bibles or smart phones were allowed, but as I'm not going to post the answers, you, gentle reader, are free to look in a Bilbe or online!. (Apologies for formatting having fun and games with this platform!)

Joseph ben Israel – A Quiz

1. Who were Joseph’s father and mother?

2. The Bible tells us that Joseph had eleven brothers and one (named) sister, listed here in alphabetical order. It would be a bit mean to ask you to sort the siblings into age order from oldest to youngest, but can you identify the first, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth?

Asher

Benjamin

Dan

Dinah (sister)

Gad

Issachar

Joseph

Judah

Levi

Naphtali

Reuben

Simeon

Zebulun

3. How old does the Bible tell us Joseph was when he had the dreams that so angered his brothers?

4. After Potiphar’s wife had Joseph thrown into prison, whose dreams did he interpret?

5. How old does the Bible tell us Joseph was when entered the service of Pharaoh?

6. What dreams did Joseph interpret for Pharaoh?

7. In whose luggage did Joseph hide a silver cup, and why?
8. What characteristics do you think Joseph had, both good and bad?

Sunday's services may have seen a rapid re-write of the sermon in the light of national and international news, but I retained the set of 'questions to ponder' about Joseph, so here they are, with apologies for formatting glitches in the upload...

Questions to Ponder

1. The story of Joseph and his siblings may prompt questions about ‘nature and nurture’.
   1. From what we know of his story, what factors do you think shaped the young/adolescent Joseph?
   2. How did his early experiences in Egypt affect him?
   3. Once he came to power, had he matured? If so how?

2. Thinking about your own experience, how did you change as you moved from adolescence into adulthood, or, if appropriate, from young adulthood into middle age, etc.? What stayed the same? What enabled you to flourish?

3. The story of Joseph’s family is full of terrible stories of dishonesty, selfishness, abuse of power, abusive sexual encounters and more. How do you feel about that? How does it compare with the ‘Sunday School’ version of the story? What additional insights might be gained from the taking the story as a whole?
   

4. Redemption and reconciliation are found at the very end of this story. Are there areas of our own lives where these are needed? What will we do about it?
   

5. Thinking about our own church, reluctance  is a greater factor than arrogance or boasting. How to we recognise people’s gifts and encourage them to exercise them, both allowing them to make mistakes and enabling them to flourish and mature?

Yesterday afternoon, whilst others watched tennis, football or F1, whilst others sat in gardens reading, whilst others walked or swam or sunbathed, I sewed. I really enjoyed the time spent playing my part in the team-work of creating this banner.

I am really looking forward to seeing the new 'characters' that are designed/made today and seeing this artwork develop further.

On Sunday, some folk made a start on our shared summer craft project - a banner based on some clip art we use quite a lot that expresses somehtign of how we see oursleves as 'church'.

The great thing is that different people can contribute in different ways... some have donated fabric, some can draw templates, some can choose fabrics, some can cut out, some can iron on interfacing, some can pin the peices in place, some will (eventually) sew it together (we could glue it, but sewing is more permanent). No-one has every skill or resource we need, but lots of people have some of them.  Together, we can make a banner because, together, we are the church.

I reckon it's looking great so far, and whilst, yes, I have done the ironing on of interfacing, and a fair bit of pinning, the bulk of the creativity lies with others.

I'll try to remember to post updates as we progress during the summer, and, in due course, the finished article!